If you are looking for tips on how to stay motivated, it is probably because you are having a hard time doing the things you would normally do with ease. It is not possible to always have the motivation to do things. You’re only human, and are bound to have more than your fair share of bad days. It is normal to have these fluctuations in life. The key is to ensure you don’t stay in this place for too long. For people going through depression, it can be even harder to get anything done. Most people know what they are supposed to do, but they can’t even get themselves to start. Depression leads to lack of focus, motivation, strength and even interest.
Actionable Tips on How to Get Motivated
Get Out Of Bed
One of the things depression makes you do is feel the need to remain in bed even when you should get up. The first thing you need to do to start feeling motivated again is force yourself to get up in the morning. Once your alarm goes off, avoid snoozing and remaining in bed. Get up and make your bed, and do not give in to the idea of going back. Instead, focus on getting things done - no matter how small.
Create A To-Do List
Often times, when you are feeling unmotivated, you imagine you have this pile of things to do and do not know where to begin. The best way to deal with this feeling of being overwhelmed is to come up with a list of things to do. In between work, do an activity you love. This makes it easy for you to enjoy work as you look forward to doing something you like every time you hit a milestone.
Don’t Feed The Depression
If you know that depression is the reason you are feeling unmotivated, the first thing you need to do is to stop feeding the feeling. Depression thrives in fear, doubts and negative emotions. One way to beat depression is learning to identify the patterns. Every time you realize that you are having negative thoughts, replace them with positive talk. Instead of focusing on the bad vibes, focus on good, positive vibes.
Focus More
You tend to get absorbed in your own thoughts when you’re depressed. This makes you drift from the things you need to do, and with time you find that it becomes a task getting anything done.
Try to focus on things that are around you and happening in real time. For instance, when washing dishes, something as small as focusing on the sound of the water as it goes down the drain can interrupt your thought process and prevent you from drifting away to your negative thoughts. This is how to get motivated.
Live For Today
Regret and worry are some of the most common causes of depression. Sometimes we focus too much on things that we failed at in the past or the things that we are supposed to do in the future and this causes worry and uncertainty. This greatly affects your motivation and prevents you from being an active person in the present.
To overcome this, cultivate a habit of fully focusing on the present. Completely drown yourself in what you’re doing right now and focus your every thought on it. For instance, when you wake up in the morning, focus on getting out of bed, having your breakfast and getting ready for work. Avoid worrying about work or anything else you’ll encounter during the day. When you get to work, avoid thinking about what needs to be done at home and focus on meeting your deadlines and getting work done in the office. Learn to live in the moment.
Exercise To Counter Depression
According to experts, engaging in physical exercise regularly is one of the best ways of overcome or prevent depression. When you exercise 3 times a week for half an hour to an hour, you boost your mental health. Physical activity keeps you focused on the exercise routine thus leaving no room for you to get absorbed in your own thoughts. Also, exercising helps to keep you motivated on getting things done.
Delegate Tasks
It is very easy to have work pile up when you’re depressed. This is because you don’t feel like doing anything. When work piles up, you end up feeling the pressure to get it done and negative thoughts about your capability might start to creep in. To avoid this, ensure you delegate any work that doesn’t necessarily require you to get it done. You can delegate to your juniors at work or to your friends if there are personal things you would want help with. This is how to get motivated.
Celebrate Small Success
To ensure you stay motivated, reward yourself every time you get something done. When you have something you love to look forward to, you strive to do what you can to get to it. With time, you will realize that you have managed to get a lot done through this method of self reward and motivation.
Learn To Trust Yourself Again
When you’re depressed, you find it hard to trust your own judgment. To get back to your best, you need to learn to trust your instincts. Learn to make decisions and trust that whatever you choose is best for you. When you second guess your decisions, you allow negative thoughts about your inability to creep in, which again lead to you to doing nothing since you don’t think you can get it right.
Always Stay Active
Even after you manage to complete all the tasks you were feeling unmotivated about and you have learned how to get motivated, remember that staying active is the only way to keep the depression away. Always find something to do as opposed to sitting around idle. Even the simplest activities can help. When you keep yourself busy, you overcome the need to sit around feeling sorry for yourself or over thinking, which often leads to depression. Also, keeping yourself busy is a good way to keep your system active and ready for the next job that comes your way.
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